Conrad Hilton Conrad Hilton at a gala celebrating

Conrad Hilton …

Conrad Hilton, at a gala celebrating his career, was called to the podium and “What were the most important lessons you learned in your long and distinguished career? ” His answer … asked,

“remember to tuck the shower curtain inside the bathtub. ”

With which he turned and walked back to his seat.

Excellence. Always. PMMI/Turnberry Isle Resort & Club Tom Peters/04 April 2011 (Slides at tompeters. com)

NOTE: To appreciate this presentation [and ensure that it is not a mess], you need Microsoft fonts: “Showcard Gothic, ” “Ravie, ” “Chiller” and “Verdana”

Mittelstand Magic

“I am often asked by would-be entrepreneurs seeking escape from life within huge corporate structures, ‘How do I build a small firm for myself? ’ The answer seems obvious … Source: Paul Ormerod, Why Most Things Fail: Evolution, Extinction and Economics

“I am often asked by would-be entrepreneurs seeking escape from life within huge corporate structures, ‘How do I build a small firm for Buy a very large one and just wait. ” myself? ’ The answer seems obvious: —Paul Ormerod, Why Most Things Fail: Evolution, Extinction and Economics

“Mr. Foster and his Mc. Kinsey colleagues collected detailed performance data stretching back 40 years for 1, 000 U. S. companies. They found that none of the long-term survivors managed to outperform the market. Worse, the longer companies had been in the database, the worse they did. ” —Financial Times

Where the +201, 000 new private-sector jobs came from* … 51% Small firms 41% Medium-sized 8% Big *ADP National Employment Report/March 2011

#4 Japan #3 USA #2 China #1 Germany

Mitt. ELstand* ** *“agile creatures darting between the legs of the multinational monsters" (Bloomberg Business. Week, 10. 10) **E. g. , Goldmann Produktion

*Basement Systems Inc. (Seymour CT) *Dry Basement Science (100, 000++ copies!) *1990: $0; 2003: $13 M; 2008: $62, 000

Jim’s Mowing Canada Jim’s Mowing UK Jim’s Antennas Jim’s Bookkeeping Jim’s Building Maintenance Jim’s Carpet Cleaning Jim’s Car Cleaning Jim’s Computer Services Jim’s Dog Wash Jim’s Driving School Jim’s Fencing Jim’s Floors Jim’s Painting Jim’s Paving Jim’s Pergolas [gazebos] Jim’s Pool Care Jim’s Pressure Cleaning Jim’s Roofing Jim’s Security Doors Jim’s Trees Jim’s Window Cleaning Jim’s Windscreens Note: Download, free, Jim Penman’s book: What Will They Franchise Next? The Story of Jim’s Group

“Be the best. It’s the only market that’s not crowded. ” From: Retail Superstars: Inside the 25 Best Independent Stores in America, George Whalin

Beyond Satisfaction With the Product

“Lou, considering all the money I’ve spent with you guys, why in the hell hasn’t my business been transformed? ”

$55 B* *IBM Global Services/ “Systems integrator of choice”

M IB to B I M

“You are headed for commodity hell if you don’t have services. ” —Lou Gerstner, on IBM’s coming revolution (1997)

From “product satisfaction” to “profitable solutions”/“business success”: Larry solves problems. Jim solves problems. Lou solves problems.

“HP to acquire EDS* for $13. 9 billion” Source: Hewlett-Packard press release/05. 13. 2008 *EDS was the first large computer services.

“WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU? ” “It’s all about solutions. We talk with customers about how to run better, stronger, cheaper supply chains. We have 1, 000 engineers who work with customers …” —Bob Stoffel, UPS senior exec

I. LAN Installation Co. II. Geek Squad. (3%) (30%. ) III. Acquired by Best. Buy. IV. Flagship of Best. Buy Wholesale “Solutions” Strategy Makeover.

Huge: Customer “Satisfaction with product” versus Customer “Success”

“The leading Indian outsourcers reckon that the key to their long-term prosperity is bagging ever larger deals … and moving ever higher up the value chain. ” —The Economist/

Little Things Matter

Conveyance: Kingfisher Air Location: Approach to New Delhi

“May I clean your glasses, sir? ”

<TGW <TG and … >TGR [Things Gone WRONG-Things Gone RIGHT]

Big carts = 1. 5 X Source: Walmart

Design Is a participative sport

“Design is treated like a religion at BMW. ” —Fortune

“Packages … are about containing and labeling and informing and celebrating. They are about power and flattery and trying to win people’s trust. They are about beauty and craftsmanship and comfort. They are about color, protection, survival. ” –Thomas Hine, The Total Package

“Design is everything. Everything is design. ” “We are all designers. ” Inspiration: The Power of Design: A Force for Transforming Everything, Richard Farson

Harry Quadracci/ Quad. Graphics … invents blow-in ads (Not the magazine industry)

Just Do it

1/45

“We have a strategic plan. It’s called … doing things. ” —Herb Kelleher

READY. FIRE! AIM. H. Ross Perot (vs “Aim!” /EDS vs GM/1985)

“We made mistakes, of course. Most of them were omissions we didn’t think of when we initially wrote the software. We fixed them by doing it over and over, again and again. We do the same today. While our competitors are still sucking their thumbs trying to make the design perfect, we’re already on prototype version # 5. By the time our rivals are ready with wires and screws, we are on version #10. It gets back to planning versus acting: We act from day one; others plan how to plan—for months. ” —Bloomberg by Bloomberg

“Experiment fearlessly” “Relentless trial and error” Source: Business. Week, “Type A Organization Strategies: How to Hit a Moving Target”— Tactic #1

“Fail. Forward. Fast. ” High Tech CEO, Pennsylvania

“Re-arrange the mind of the enemy” —T. E. Lawrence

1/5, 000: “You miss 100% of the shots you never take. ” —Wayne Gretzky

We are what we eat/ Who we hang out with

“You will become like the five people you associate with the most—this can be either a blessing or a curse. ” —Billy Cox

The “We are what we eat”/ “We are who we hang out with” Axiom: At its core, every (!!!) relationship-partnership decision (employee, vendor, customer, etc) is a strategic decision about: “Innovate, ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ ”

People power

“You have to treat your employees like customers. ” —Herb Kelleher, upon being asked his “secret to success” Source: Joe Nocera, NYT, “Parting Words of an Airline Pioneer, ” on the occasion of Herb Kelleher’s retirement after 37 years at Southwest Airlines (SWA’s pilots union took out a full-page ad in USA Today thanking HK for all he had done) ; across the way in Dallas, American Airlines’ pilots were picketing AA’s Annual Meeting)

“We are a ‘Life Success’ Company. ” Dave Liniger, founder, RE/MAX

Oath of Office: Managers/Servant Leaders Our goal is to serve our customers brilliantly and profitably over the long haul. Serving our customers brilliantly and profitably over the long haul is a product of brilliantly serving, over the long haul, the people who serve the customer. Hence, our job as leaders—the alpha and the omega and everything in between—is abetting the sustained growth and success and engagement and enthusiasm and commitment to Excellence of those, one at a time, who directl y or indirectly serve the ultimate customer. We—leaders of every stripe—are in the “Human Growth and Development and Success and Aspiration to Excellence business. ” “We” [leaders] only grow when “they” [each and every one of our colleagues] are growing. “We” [leaders] only succeed when “they” [each and every one of our colleagues] are succeeding. “We” [leaders] only energetically march toward Excellence when “they” [each and every one of our colleagues] are energetically marching toward Excellence. Period.

Brand = Talent.

If the regimental commander lost most of his 2 nd lieutenants and 1 st lieutenants and captains and If he lost his sergeants it would be a catastrophe. The Army and the majors, it would be a tragedy. Navy are fully aware that success on the battlefield is dependent to an extraordinary degree on its Sergeants and Chief Petty Officers. Does industry have the same awareness?

#1 cause of employee Dis-satisfaction?

Suggested addition to your statement of Core Values: “We are obsessed with developing a cadre of 1 st line managers that is second to none—we understand that this cadre per se is arguably one of our top two or three most important ‘Strategic Assets. ’”